Sarah Palin issued a comment on her Facebook today. (This is how she gets her message out. How technologically progressive of her.) It stated the following:
Book burning is antithetical to American ideals. People have a constitutional right to burn a Koran if they want to, but doing so is insensitive and an unnecessary provocation – much like building a mosque at Ground Zero.
I have to wonder what kind of logic goes through this woman’s head. It would be a fascinating exploration in logic (or lack thereof). This analogy is so flawed, I’m at a loss on where to begin.
If anyone has been living under a rock, or just too busy looking for work, a quick summary of the issues is as follows:
Park 51, or the Cordoba House, is a planned Muslim community center 2 blocks from the site of the former Twin Towers in Manhattan. Opponents claim that it is offensive because the attacks of September 11, 2001, were perpetrated by Islam (not Islamic radicals). They continuously call this the “Ground Zero Mosque,” although it is not planned to be a mosque, but a community center with a “prayer space” for Muslims. Although a large amount of people oppose Park 51, majority of those people are not Manhattanites. (According to the NY Daily News, more than half of the New Yorkers that oppose the “Mosque” are residents of Staten Island.)
On the southern end of the East Coast, The Dove World Outreach Center is hosting “International Burn a Quran Day” on the ninth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The pastor of this church has denounced Islam as a religion “of the devil,” and plans to make a public demonstration of this event. General Petraeus, the Top US Commander in Afghanistan, has denounced the actions of the Dove World Outreach Center, stating that these actions will incite violence against American troops.
Now. According to Sarah Palin, there are several issues at stake here. “Book burning is antithetical to American ideals” and burning the “Koran” is “insensitive and an unnecessary provocation.“ She also claims that “building a mosque at Ground Zero” is also “insensitive and an unnecessary provocation.”
A victim in a system about cold cash
If you don’t make it then they treat you like trash
Dispose of you tonight if not in the morning
This is not a prophecy, this is just a warning
The midterm elections are approaching. So, what is really going on? Conservative ads are flooding social media. Politicians are spending unprecedented amounts of money on mid-term elections. What’s at stake? What could this all mean?
SUBVERSION OF DEMOCRACY
First of all, we have evidence of a subversion of the electoral process. A story ran in the New York Times recently with the title: “Republican Runs Street People on Green Ticket.” Many people respond with “So what?“ Well, this already came up in South Carolina with Alvin Greene. This case in Arizona is even more egregious because there is evidence. So what? Well, this is a subversion of democracy. Manipulation of elections is anti-democratic.
What really happened in Arizona? Well, it would appear that the GOP decided to elicit homeless people to run as (unqualified) Green Party Candidates. We saw in the 2000 Presidential Election that a Green Party vote can diminish the turnout for a Democratic Candidate. The people that are running on the Green Party ballot have a very unlikely chance of actually winning. They are inexperienced and ineffectual. This almost assures a Republican win in these elections. It is also dishonest and manipulative.
When a politician can win an election by manipulating the voter turnout, or the voting results, the result is not democratic. Democracy only works when people vote on representatives for their concerns. The winner of an election is supposed to be the candidate that best represents that majority of voters. (Checks and balances provide for protection from the “tyranny of the majority.”) If a politician is elected because they subverted this process, they do not represent their electorate. (This also throws off the checks and balances.)
ECONOMIC BLACKMAIL
At the same time, we have a federal government that is refusing progress. There are enough Republicans and “Democrats In Name Only” (DINO) that a large amount of proposed legislation by this Presidential administration is not getting passed. This is hindering any progress made for recover on the national economy, and any other area that needs reform. (more…)
“Who are the oppressors? The few: the King, the capitalist, and a handful of other overseers and superintendents. Who are the oppressed? The many: the nations of the earth; the valuable personages; the workers; they that make the bread that the soft-handed and idle eat.”
~ Mark Twain
Labor day was made a federal holiday after the Pullman Strike. It was a national strike of railway workers. The Pullman Strike ended in a bit of tragedy. The President sent the National Guard and US Marshals to end the strike. Death and injury resulted, as well as large amounts of property damage. Eugene V. Debs led the strike. He was eventually incarcerated on a minor charge. It was while in jail that Debs read the works of Karl Marx. Debs became a socialist and ran for President in 1900.
Those who produce should have, but we know that those who produce the most – that is, those who work hardest, and at the most difficult and most menial tasks, have the least.
~ Eugene V. Debs
We owe a lot to these organizers, of unions and protests, in the 19th and 20th centuries. It was these brave people who stood up to corporate thuggery and government force. They paved the way for workplace safety standards, fair wages, fair conditions, and many other labor laws that save thousands of lives every year.
While there is a lower class, I am in it, while there is a criminal element, I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free.
~ Eugene V. Debs
Today is Labor Day. Let us not forget what “Labor” means in Labor Day. It means the worker. Labor day is not “Production Day.” It was a national holiday created in support of the labor that keeps society going.
There are quite a few (too many) people that contest the legitimacy of President Obama on various grounds. One of the most public claims is that President Obama was not born in the United States. This claim is that he is of Kenyan birth. Other claims include him being a Muslim and even part of a terrorist group. I really just want to ask: Really?
I mean, to what end was President Obama ‘installed’ into office illegitimately? Barack Obama obviously could not have perpetrated this hoax alone, so who are his supporters? And to what end did they help install President Obama into the Presidency of the United States? Was it the Kenyan Coffee Cartel? Was it the Indonesian Muslim School? Debating Obama’s legitimacy could be a valid debate. Many of us continued to debate the legitimacy of the last president, who was installed into his office by a Supreme Court decision, rather than the electoral process. The claim was also that President G.W.Bush would favor big business and help the wealthy become more wealthy. (This occurred.) If President Obama has used deception to get into office, to what end?
Not long ago, Alvin Greene first stepped on the scene. Well, he stepped on the scene by winning the DNC Primary in South Carolina. No campaign. Immediately questions arose. Questions are still arising. How did he get on the ballot and how did he get elected? These are valid questions. And one could apply my own criteria, “To what end?”
The usurp of the incumbent GOP Senator in Utah should be a bit concerning to all of us. The Fascists are dethroning their Masters. We could bring up images of Darth Vader turning on the Emporer or Hitler turning on Hindenburg… but I don’t like Star Wars or Nazi analogies. Star Wars was racist. Nazi analogies always get lost and people end up arguing semantics.
I am limited in my time and cannot espouse in my typical verbose manner… but the usurping of a Conservative by the Tea Party is interesting, at best… and terrifying at worst.
